This application is a substitute of application Ser. No. 256,891 filed Apr. 23, 1981, now abandoned.
Drill bits which have a cutting face comprised of a plurality of polycrystalline diamond stud assemblies are known to those skilled in the art as evidenced by my co-pending patent applications Ser. No. 803,326, filed Dec. 2, 1985 Ser. No. 803,325 filed Dec. 2, 1985, to which reference is made for further background of this invention.
Attempts have previously been made to remove the stud assembly from the drill bit, rotate the stud assembly to bring a new cutting edge into operative cutting relationship respective to the face of the bit, and thereafter reinstall the same polycrystalline stud assembly. Others skilled in the art have removed an angled stud from the bit and thereafter removed the polycrystalline disc from the stud assembly. The disc is then rotated and reattached to the stud or to a new stud, with an unworn cutting edge oriented to engage the formation. Either of these expedients are time consuming, and therefore expensive.
It would be desirable to be able to easily remove the entire stud assembly from its counterbore, rotate the stud assembly along its longitudinal axial centerline a sufficient amount to cause an unused cutting edge to be brought into cutting relationship respective to the bit face, and thereafter, reinstall the stud assembly within the counterbore. Method and apparatus for carrying out this desirable and unusual drill bit rebuilding technique is the subject of the present invention.